Water removing device

ABSTRACT

A device for removing water from an artifically surfaced field comprises, in combination, a frame; at least one roller rotatably mounted in said frame and extending at least partially therebelow, said roller having a diameter of from about 2 to 20 inches and adapted to roll over said surfacing, there being sufficient weight exerted on said roller by the weight of the roller, the weight of the device, or preferably a combination thereof, so that said roller exerts at least 10 pounds per square inch pressure on said surface along the length dimension of said roller, said roller pressing said surface to express water therefrom to a position in front of said roller; suction means to remove said water from in front of said roller; and means on said frame to hold the water after it is removed.

united States Patent [1 1 3,683,447 Stevenson 1451 Aug. 15, 1972 1541WATER REMOVING DEVICE 1,240,799 9/1917 Gray /50 R x 72 Invent WilliamSte St. P ul, 3,351,971 11/1967 Hocking et a1. ..l5/340 1 Minn a3,079,620 3/1963 Hunter ..15/98 x Assignee= Minnesota Mining andMlnufactur- Primary Examiner-Wa1ter A. Scheel mg Company, St. Paul,Mlnn- Assistant Examiner-C. K. Moore 22 Filed; June 25 970Attorney-Kinney, Alexander, Sell, Steldt & Delahunt [21] Appl. No.:49,670 57 ABSTRACT A device for removing water from an artifically sur-[52] US. Cl. ..-l5/352, 15/320, 15/353 faced field comprises, incombination, a f at least [51] Int. Cl. ..A47I 7/00 one roller rotatablymounted in Said frame and [58] held of Search "15/50 50 981320422tending at least partially therebelow, said roller having 15/353 302;29/132 100/ a diameter of from about 2 to 20 inches and adapted /20 toroll over said surfacing, there being sufficient weight exerted on saidroller by the weight of the [56] References cued roller, the weight ofthe device, or preferably a com- UNITED STATES PATENTS bination thereof,SQ that said roller eirerts at 16381 10 pounds per square inch pressureon said surface along 1,168,175 H1916 DFal'dorff "15/359 x the lengthdimension of said roller, said roller pressing 2,699,637 NlSbet Xsurface t express water th f t a iti 1,283,499 11] 1918 Gray ..l5/50 R Xin from f Said roller; Suction means to remove Said 1,268,962 6/1918Gray ..15/320 X waer from in from of said when and means on Said1,691,164 1 H1928 Monk ..15/32l X frame to hold the water after it isremoved 1,069,608 8/ 1913 Ewing et a1. ..15/340 X 1,078,352 1l/l9l3Hervey ..15/340 X 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAU: 15 m2 SHEET 2[IF 2 WATER REMOVING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to a device for removing water from an artificiallysurfaced field. More particularly, the present invention contemplates adevice for removing water from an artificially surfaced field by meansof a roller exerting pressure against the field to express water fromthe field to a position in front of the roller, in combination withsuction means to remove the water that is so expressed. The device ofthe present invention allows the artificially surfaced field to be in aplayable condition immediately after a rain or the like so that eventsscheduled for the field do not have to be canceled or postponed.

At present, artificially surfaced fields are used quite extensively inboth professional and amateur stadiums as such turf has severaladvantages overnatural turf. A synthetic turf is durable, is easilymaintained, and minimizes the chances of injury to users of the field.Nevertheless, an accumulation of water on the synthetically surfacedfield may occur after a heavy rain. The substrate used with artificialturf is impermeable and the field either must be sloped to allow waterto drain off the field or accumulated water on the surface simplyallowed to evaporate, which may take a much longer period of time thanit does with natural turf.

Drainage systems have been employed on some artificially surfaced fieldswhich are essentially trenches or manholes located proximate to or inthe field itself. Although certain of these drainage systems allow thefield to drain so that water will not remain on the field for anextended period of time, they are inadequate for the immediate removalof water after a heavy rain. Thus, there is a need for a device thatwill remove water from a synthetically surfaced field when there isinsufficient time to allow the field to drain naturally.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there isprovided a device for conveniently removing water from an artificiallysurfaced field, such that the field may be placed in a playable orusable condition, immediately after a rain or the like. The device maybe selfpropelled or, more conveniently, pulled behind a truck, tractoror other powered vehicle over the field so that the entire field may befreed of water in a very short time, e.g., less than one hour for 45,000sq. ft.

The device essentially comprises, in combination, a frame; at least oneroller rotatably mounted in said frame and extending at least partiallytherebelow, said roller having a diameter of from about 2 to 20 inchesand adapted to roll over said surfacing, there being sufficient weightavailable from the weight of the roller, the weight of the frame, orpreferably a combination thereof, so that said roller exerts at leastpounds per square inch pressure on said surface along the lengthdimension of said roller, said roller pressing said surface to expresswater therefrom to a position in front of said roller; suction means infront of said roller to remove said water and; means to hold said waterafter it is removed.

In the preferred embodiment, said suction means front of said rollersand only slightly above the field. When the device is pulled along thefield, the rollers express water from the field to a positionimmediately forcomprise a plurality of suction nozzles flexibly mountedto said frame and situated immediately in ward the moving rollers suchthat the nozzles, having reduced pressure therein, draw up the water infront of the rollers transferring the water to the holding means on theframe. The water may then be carried by the device or removed therefromby a spraying system in the device or by other means.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be betterunderstood with reference to the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevated side view of the device of the present inventionwith the housing in section;

FIG. 2 is a partial top view of the lower half of the device; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational rear view of the device.

With reference to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1, the device of thepresent invention comprises a frame 16 which may or may not have a coveror housing 26 mounted thereon for protection of the moving parts of thedevice and for aesthetic purposes. A rubber covered roll 40 is rotatablymounted to the frame 16 by means of a bracket 7 pivotably mounted on andsuspended below said frame. In one embodiment of the invention, the rollconsists of a steel core 13 having a soft rubber cover 14 thereon.Immediately in front of roll 40 is mounted a suction attachment 69comprising a hose 68 having a fan-shaped nozzle or wand 70 attachedthereto. The suction pickup hose 68 is attached to the frame via asuction pump 62, so that the wand 70 is adjacent the surface contactedby the roller and just in front of the surface contacting portion of theroller. The pump 62 serves to reduce the air pressure in the suctionattachment 69 so that water may be drawn thereinto and later transferredto a holding tank 11. The pump 62 is in turn attached to a manifold 72by means of a hose 71. Additionally, attached to frame 16 near pump 62,is a center roll 97. This roll is attached to the frame 16 by means of aroll bracket attached with a pivot bracket 103. A central pump 56 isprovided to force water from the device to a point off the field and isdriven by an engine 22 by means of a timing belt 38. The engine 22 ismounted on the frame by means of an engine mount 23.

The holding tank 11, for receiving the water removed from the field, ismounted on frame 16. The tank 11 has an aperture 73 to which is attacheda pipe leading to the manifold 72 for the intake of water and a manhole66 to allow entry into the tank for cleaning purposes and the like. Thetank is connected to a pump 56 by means of a pipe or tubing 17, suchpump and tubing being used for the removal of water from the tank aftercollection. Attached to pump 56 is a pipe 59 having a nozzle 61 attachedthereto which allows water to be removed from the tank and sprayed to apoint off the field. The device has a hitch 19 which may be convenientlyengaged with a corresponding part on a tractor or car.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pickup wands are preferably used inseries, six of the wands riding in front of roller 40 and six riding infront of a second roller 41 such that a fan-shaped suction nozzle isplaced in front of each foot of width of roll surface. The wands arepreferably spaced as described so that the pickup of water in front ofboth rolls is essentially uniform along the entire width of the device.There is a space 42 between the two rollers which allows the rollers topivot independently of each other compensating for possible deviationsin the surface of the field over which the device may be pulled. Water,however, does not pass through space 42 as a center roll 97, presses thewater out of the artificial turf and directs it in front of the two mainrollers 41 and 40 where it may be removed. Rolls 40 and 41 arepreferably about 6 feet long and have a diameter of from about 2 to 20inches. It was found that the stated diameter of the roll provides themost optimum pressing effect against the synthetically surfaced fieldfor the removal of water. The wands themselves are preferably about 11inches wide although this width may vary depending on the number ofwands used and the size of the rollers used.

The illustration in FIG. 2 best illustrates how the device of thepresent invention operates. Each suction attachment 69 along the lengthof the rolls 40 and 41 are individually attached to a pump 62, one pumpused for each wand, which in turn is attached to a central drive shaft87 by means of a timing belt 90 and pulley 91. The drive shaft isconnected to an engine 22 by a timing belt pulley 83. Thus, each suctionnozzle has an individual pump so that it may work independently of therest to insure water removal at all times, and also to decrease theburden on one pump if it were used alone. Further, if only one pump wereused, all of the nozzles would stop working when one of the nozzlesstarted pulling air instead of water. The suction attachment 69 isattached to the manifold 72, the manifold running the entire width ofthe machine and attached to each suction nozzle. At one side of thedevice, the manifold 72 is attached to a pipe 1 10 having a valve 11 1therein, said pipe attached to tank 11 at 72 by means of an elbow joint109. A hose is attached to the bottom portion of the tank by a secondelbow joint 17 which in turn is attached to the spraying nozzle 61 bypipe 59. The spraying nozzle is attached to a pump 56 which is alsodriven by engine 22. The pump 56 is connected by a clutch (not shown) tothe main engine drive by means of pulley 34.

When the device is to be used, the hitch 19 may be conveniently engagedwith a truck or tractor which will pull the device over the playingfield. As the device is pulled over the field, the weight exerted on therollers forces the rollers to press against the artificial turf, therebyexpressing water therefrom in front of the roller as the rollers movealong. The wand pickup 70, which is flexibly attached to the device bymeans of a non-rigid, corrugated hose 68, actually rides on the waterthat is expressed in front of the roller as the device moves, placing itin the most desirable position to draw up the water. Reduced airpressure created in the pickup wand due to the pump 62 causes the waterto be sucked up into the pickup wand 70 by reduced air pressure createdby the pumps and transferred to manifold 72. The water then travelsthrough the manifold to the connecting pipe 110 and into the tank 11.The tank has at least a 400 gallon capacity and thus, large portions ofthe field may be cleared of water before the machine has to be emptied.Consequently, the device of the present invention has the advantage thatthe water does not have to be rehandled.

[t is important that there be sufficient pressure placed on the rollerso that the water can be expressed from the artificial turf. Thispressure may be provided, in part, by the roller itself which preferablyhas a steel core having a layer of neoprene rubber vulcanized on thecore. Further pressure is obtained through the weight of the deviceitself and, in addition, through the weight of the water as it iscollected in the tank. The pressure exerted against the turf should beat least 10 pounds per square inch along the length dimension of theroller and not more than about pounds per square inch. Excess pressuremay cause damage to the synthetic fibers. Further, it has been foundthat pressure over that stated is of no additional benefit with regardto expressing water out of the turf.

After the tank is filled, the engine may be shafted so that pump 56 isactivated. Upon such activation, the water in the tank is removedthrough aperture 20 and is forced out pipe 59 and nozzle 61. Thus, thewater on the field may be conveniently removed by means of the device ofthe present invention and sprayed or otherwise transferred from thedevice to some point off the field where it will not interfere with theplayability of the field. The device can also continuously expell watereven while picking up water and, thus, save much time in the waterremoval process.

Although a plurality of suction nozzles is preferably used, one or twonozzles may also be used. More than one nozzle is preferably used toincrease the efficiency of the device in that if one suction wand hasinsufficient water to pick up, that wand will pump air without affectingthe water intake of the other suction wands. The roller or rollerspreferably have an outer surface of resilient rubber so that smalldeviations in the field do not allow spaces to be formed between theroller and the field allowing some water to escape. The roll may beentirely made of such a flexible rubber or may only be surfaced with theresilient rubber as described herein. The rubber surfacing is preferablyabout A to 1 inch thick. Each roller alone, when a steel core is used,weighs about 500 pounds. The weight of the entire device is about 8,000pounds so that about 4,000 pounds pressure is placed on each rollerwhich is evenly distributed over the length dimension of the roller.

Although the device is designed primarily to be towed by a tractor ortruck, the device may also be driven by its own power unit. The speedthe device is moved at is determined by the water level in the storagetank and also by the completeness of the water removal. It has found themoving of the device at about 5 miles per hour was suitable for mostapplications. A gauge may be attached to the device to determine, basedon water removal efficiency, how fast the device should be moved.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for removing water from an artificially surfaced field,comprising in combination:

a frame;

at least one roller rotatably mounted on said frame and extending atleast partially therebelow, said roller having a diameter of from 2 to20 inches and adapted to roll over said field surfacing, therebeingsufficient weight available from the weight of said roller, the weightof said frame, or a combination thereof, so that said roller exerts atleast 10 pounds roller, the weight of said frame or a combination persquare inch pressure on said field along the enthereof so that saidrollers exert at least 10 pounds tire length dimension of said roller,said roller per square inch pressure on said artificially surpressingsaid surface to express water therefrom to faced field along the lengthdimension of said ro|- a position in front of said roller; 5 lers;

a plurality of nozzles, each flexibly mounted on the a plurality ofnozzles, each flexibly mounted on the frame independently of each otherand indepenframe independently of each other and independent of saidroller mounting, each nozzle being sinent of s i r r n i g, h n zzl eingsingularly connected to one of a corresponding plu-. g l rly Connectedto One Of a ponding plurality of suction pumps to draw water into aid 10rality of suction pumps said nozzles mounted in nozzle and remove aidwater fro i f m f id said frame immediately in front of said rollers androller; and adjacent said field;

means to hold said water after it has been removed. a tank mounted Saidframe to hold Water; and

2. The device of claim 1 additionally having means to means to move hdevilceoh Sald field;

transfer said water from said holding means to a point whereby when Saiddevice ls moved on Said field, Sald off said field. rollers expresswater from said field to a position 3. The device of claim 1 whereinsaid roller is a metal immediately forward the moving Toners Such that hft f d with a resilient materiaL said nozzles, having reduced pressuretherein, pick 4. The device of claim 3 wherein said resilient up Saidwater from of said moving rollers materia] is rubber ferring same tosaid tank.

5. Thedevice for removing water from an artificially The device of claim5 'h Said Toners surfaced fi ld comprising in combination; prise acentral steel core surfaced with a soft, neoprene a frame; rubber.

a pair of rollers rotatably mounted on said frame and The Y' of claim 5addmohahy havlhg a Small extending at least partially therebelow each oflead roller In front and between said rollers for ex- Said rollers beingabout 6 feet long and having a pressing water to a point in front ofsaid rollers when diameter of from about 2 to 20 inches, therebeingdevlce movedsufficient weight available from the weight of said

1. A device for removing water from an artificially surfaced field,comprising in combination: a frame; at least one roller rotatablymounted on said frame and extending at least partially therebelow, saidroller having a diameter of from 2 to 20 inches and adapted to roll oversaid field surfacing, therebeing sufficient weight available from theweight of said roller, the weight of said frame, or a combinationthereof, so that said roller exerts at least 10 pounds per square inchpressure on said field along the entire length dimension of said roller,said roller pressing said surface to express water therefrom to aposition in front of said roller; a plurality of nozzles, each flexiblymounted on the frame independently of each other and independent of saidroller mounting, each nozzle being singularly connected to one of acorresponding plurality of suction pumps to draw water into said nozzleand remove said water from in front of said roller; and means to holdsaid water after it has been removed.
 2. The device of claim 1additionally having means to transfer said water from said holding meansto a point off said field.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said rolleris a metal shaft surfaced with a resilient material.
 4. The device ofclaim 3 wherein said resilient material is rubber.
 5. The device forremoving water from an artificially surfaced field, comprising incombination; a frame; a pair of rollers rotatably mounted on said frameand extending at least partially therebelow, each of said rollers beingabout 6 feet long and having a diameter of from about 2 to 20 inches,therebeing sufficient weight available from the weight of said roller,the weight of said frame or a combination thereof so that said rollersexert at least 10 pounds per square inch pressure on said artificiallysurfaced field along the length dimension of said rollers; a pluralityof nozzles, each flexibly mounted on the frame independently of eachother and independent of said roller mounting, each nozzle beingsingularly connected to one of a corresponding plurality of suctionpumps said nozzles mounted in said frame immediately in front of saidrollers and adjacent said field; a tank mounted on said frame to holdwater; and means to move said device on said field; whereby when saiddevice is moved on said field, said rollers express water from saidfield to a position immediately forward the moving rollers such thatsaid nozzles, having reduced pressure therein, pick up said water infront of said moving rollers transferring same to said tank.
 6. Thedevice of claim 5 wherein said rollers comprise a central steel coresurfaced with a soft, neoprene rubber.
 7. The device of claim 5additionally having a small lead roller in front and between saidrollers for expressing water to a point in front of said rollers whensaid device is moved.